Chapter 3

"Is our Luna okay?" A voice kept echoing in Nelly's subconscious mind. She was gradually coming back to reality as she felt someone rubbing her palm. The hand seemed familiar.

"Someone get us some warm water. She seems fine but we need to clean her body with water. Hurry!" The voice continued. It sounded like someone close to her. Someone who had helped her in the past. It sounded like.. she remembered! It sounded like Nuna, the midwife who helped her deliver her son, Taron. 

Nelly took a deep breath and exhaled as she opened her eyes. She was lying face down on the floor as she saw the trees. The sun rays brightly colored the environment. It looked beautiful. It always looked beautiful in the mornings. That was when it hit her that she had heard of her mate's death at night. Was it a dream?

She turned to look at Nuna. Nuna smiled, "You're alive and well, Luna. Thank the moon goddess" she bowed.

"Where is my sun? What time is it? What is going on?!! Where is the alpha?!! Was it all a dream? What happened to me last night?" She asked as she seemed restless. She turned to notice her environment as she soon noticed a lot of eyes were on her.

She was lying in the center of what seemed to be like a square. Children, old men and women and youths were all gathered. Beside her, was her alpha. She scotted over to touch him. She noticed her had markings and blood drawn over his body. She lifted her head and placed her gaze on Nuna.

"What happened to him and what are you doing to him?" She asked, her words, softly spoken.

"we are doing the same thing we did to you, except, we did not need blood for yours. It is called the ingkali." Someone from the crowd answered.

Nelly turned her face to find the voice. She fixed her eyes on the direction the voice was coming from until she could see a woman come from the crowds. She looked old and knowledge but Nelly was family with all the elders of their pack, so who was this woman? 

"Who are you? And how do you know this knowledge that I do not know?" Nelly asked, sitting up straight as she adjustes herself.

"Luna. My name is Ganjai. I am Luthan's aunt. I came from the blue tail pack as I heard my nephew had been killed. I am his mother's last sister. I am the family healer. I am here to bring your mate back to life. You had gone into show and entered a comma. I saved you" she answered as Nelly watched the elderly woman give her a mid-bow.

Nelly nodded as she held her chest and also gave the elder woman a mid-bow while she sat. She cleared her throat and sat comfortably beside her husband, "Thank you Ganjai. I am utmostly grateful. I and my husband. We are both grateful"

Ganjai bowed again.

"So how do we heal him and bring him back to life?" Nelly asked as she turned her neck to look at her husband, the last thing she wanted was for him to die. He owed her a life. A life that she was about to get until that attack. 

"We woke you up before the alpha because we need you to wake him up. He can not be woken without his Luna or son. Taron is too young for such a ritual so we patiently waited for you" Ganjai answered.

"Patiently waited??" She wrinkled her eyebrows as she heard that. What were they talking about? Patiently? How long was she out? She turned to look around the center. She looked to trees and houses.

Last she remembered, everything was being ransacked but now, things looked in order, almost like there wasn't an attack earlier.

"When you say patiently waited. What does that mean exactly? How long was I out?" Nelly asked. 

Nuna held Nelly's hand enclosed in hers. She had seen that move somewhere. They always did it when they had bad news to share.

"Luna. You had been out for two weeks. We are so sorry to tell you that" she said as she bowed her head.

"Two weeks!!?" She gasped as she tried to use her hands to cover her mouth." Where is my son? Where is Taron?" Nelly turned to the crowd to search for her only son.

Nuna squeezed her hand tightly.

"Luna. I took care of him. He is with my son, Damon, in our hut. Please be calm. We handled that, Luna" , her words calmed Nelly as she took a deep breath and turned to the healer, Ganjai.

"How do we wake the Alpha?" Nelly asked as she glanced at Luthan's body, a rare hope surfaced. At least, she would finally be able to gain freedom.

"We call it the kiss of life. We will give you the venom of a snake. It will spread through your skin. Then we will cut open your wrist and the alpha will drink from your blood" 

"What?" Nelly shouted in shock. Was Ganjai insane or was she simply trying to kill her?

"That is the only way to wake the Alpha. This ritual must be done by the alpha's close kin or else, he and the doer would die. That is why we need you" Ganjai added, as she strolled forward to where Nelly and Luthan were seated.

"Can you not do it?" Nelly asked. Her eyes mirrored the rays of the sun. They looked beautiful.

"I could but Luthan is an alpha and he has you and a son. It is the rule. Either you or his son can help you. No one else can." Ganjai knelt beside her nephew, "Luna, if you are ready, we can begin now. We have a long way to go" 

Nelly swallowed hard. She did not want to but she could not say no. First because she was the Luna and second because Luthan owed her a life and she needed him to be alive to give her that life.

She paused for a second and then stretched her arm to Ganjai, "I hope this does not hurt much. Let us begin"

Ganjai smiled, "Okay Luna. Two rules. First, do not let go of his body and second, do not fall asleep. No matter what. Never fall asleep. I can not bring you back to life if you do. Do you understand, Luna?" 

"Okay. Let us begin" Nelly said as she nodded. She got on her knees and watched as Ganjai got up to get the snake.

Ganjai had gotten the snake basic and had brought out the snake. It was a long and deadly snake. It was a cobra. Nelly gasped,

"Fuck"